Ja Morant, the franchise player for the Memphis Grizzlies, has experienced something of a fall from grace lately.
He posted an Instagram Live in which he was seen displaying a gun while partying at a nightclub in Colorado, and along with a couple of other reported incidents, it has raised some serious concerns about his character and the company he chooses to keep.
Including Wednesday’s game against the Miami Heat, Morant has now missed the Grizzlies’ last six games, and he will miss two more contests after the NBA suspended him for a total of eight games.
The star guard sat down with an interview with former NBA player and current ESPN analyst Jalen Rose in which he took responsibility for his actions and vowed to do better.
Ja Morant sat down with @JalenRose in an exclusive interview about the incident that led to his suspension and his path forward. pic.twitter.com/t1WwL5dvrQ
— ESPN (@espn) March 15, 2023
Morant also said the gun he toted in that Instagram Live wasn’t his, but some fans doubted the sincerity of that claim.
the feds when they hear: “The gun wasn’t mine” pic.twitter.com/s8ZHP6fs2u
— BAG 🎒 (@nfsbag) March 15, 2023
“gun wasnt mine, not who i am” lol. ok bud
— thedealbreaker (@dlbreaker20) March 15, 2023
“The gun wasn’t mine” pic.twitter.com/Iuei3aFESF
— No Strayz (@NOSTRAYZ) March 15, 2023
Let’s keep Ja in prayers and when we look back on this we gonna be very very proud of him
— Solo🚶🏾♂️ (@SoloAG3) March 15, 2023
He’s apologized, gotten punished, and is trying to do better. But watch people still hate on him 🙄
— Joey 🌃 (@Perez_Joel_) March 15, 2023
Am I tripping or is this Ja Morant situation completely getting blown out of proportion?
— Wax (@Waxydabz) March 15, 2023
Over the last couple of seasons, the Murray State University product has gone from an upstart youngster who won the Rookie of the Year award to one of basketball’s premier players.
He is averaging 27.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 8.2 assists so far this season, and he earned his second consecutive All-Star game nod as a result.
Memphis was one of the NBA’s hottest teams earlier this season, but they have struggled over the last two months and have fallen from second place to third place in the Western Conference.
Needless to say, it will need a focused and motivated Morant in order to go deep in the playoffs this spring.
